On eve of playoffs, Celtics lose Garnett

Knee injury will keep star out of 1st round, maybe all postseason

The Boston Globe—April 17, 2009

Kevin Garnett, the warrior hero of the champion Boston Celtics, appears destined to watch this year's playoffs from the sideline, hobbled by a balky right knee that has kept him off the court for most of the past two months, the team revealed yesterday.

The disclosure, emerging after the team had previously minimized the severity of the injury, raised as many questions as it answered - most prominently, what is the extent of the power forward's injury?

The coach described the injury as a strain to the popliteus tendon, which sits at the back of the knee, on the outside, and bisects the big joint that is the knee's fulcrum.

Instead, another orthopedic specialist speculated that the star player may be suffering from something more severe: damaged cartilage, perhaps, or a floating chip that might be lodged in a recess of the tendon.

"I'd say it's not likely" that it's a damaged popliteus tendon, said Dr. Riley Williams, the New Jersey Nets' team physician and an orthopedic surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. "It's such an unusual diagnosis. It seldom occurs in isolation."

"He's known as a warrior kind of guy, and he's kept himself in great shape. But remember what they say: It's not the age, it's the mileage," Williams said. "It's really a bummer. I'm a Lakers fan, but I love Kevin Garnett. What's not to love about the guy?"

Read the full story at boston.com.